Books Blog : chick lit, books, lovehttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/tags/chick+lit/books/love/default.aspxTags: chick lit, books, loveenCommunityServer 2008 SP1 (Build: 30619.63)Recent Chick Lit Readshttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/10/14/recent-chick-lit-reads.aspxWed, 14 Oct 2009 21:33:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1902KickinLibrarian@evpl0http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1902http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/10/14/recent-chick-lit-reads.aspx#comments<p><img height="211" width="163" src="http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2009/09/28/image5345445.jpg" alt="Prospect Park West" style="margin:10px;" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="214" width="161" src="http://www.halogenlife.com/shared_assets/images/0002/6921/mercury.jpg" alt="Mercury in Retrograde" style="margin:10px;vertical-align:bottom;" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="215" width="162" src="http://www.sweetspot.ca/uploaded_images/TwentiesGirl.jpg" alt="Twenties Girl" style="margin:10px;" /></p>
<p>In the past few weeks since my last blog post, I have been on a chick-lit rampage.&nbsp; I have been speed-reading through recent releases like I don&#39;t have a hundred other things to do.&nbsp; Laundry piled up, kitchen didn&#39;t get cleaned, and packing for my move didn&#39;t happen.&nbsp; These three books are part of the reason that I have been slacking.&nbsp; </p>
<p><em>Prospect Park West&nbsp;</em>by Amy Sohn&nbsp;takes place in Brooklyn&#39;s prosperous&nbsp;Park Slope&nbsp;neighborhood.&nbsp; The lives of four women intersect as they deal with husbands, children, and playground politics.&nbsp; Not earth-shattering reading, but worth a chance if you have the time.</p>
<p><em>Mercury in </em>Retrograde by Paula&nbsp;Froelich has a cover&nbsp;strikingly similar&nbsp;to Prospect Park West.&nbsp;&nbsp;Froelich&#39;s novel takes place across the bridge in Manhattan where three&nbsp;women who are down on their luck join forces to get their lives back in order.&nbsp; The ending&nbsp;is pretty predictable, but it is an enjoyable read.</p>
<p>Going across the pond to England, Sophie Kinsella&#39;s&nbsp;latest book<em>, Twenties&nbsp;Girl</em>, introduces us&nbsp;to&nbsp;Sadie, a wild flapper from the 1920s and her great-niece, Lara, living in&nbsp;present-day London.&nbsp; Sadie has passed away alone in a retirement home, but&nbsp;her spirit remains on&nbsp;Earth pushing Lara to find&nbsp;who stole Sadie&#39;s prized possession.&nbsp;&nbsp;True to Kinsella form, this book is laugh out loud funny and&nbsp;highly recommended.&nbsp; </p>
<p>Happy Reading!&nbsp;</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1902" width="1" height="1">humorreviewsfictionbookschick litLondonfunnylovewomenfriendsSophie KinsellaAmy SohnPaula FroelichThe Wedding Girlhttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/08/28/the-wedding-girl.aspxFri, 28 Aug 2009 14:54:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1803KickinLibrarian@evpl0http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1803http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/08/28/the-wedding-girl.aspx#comments<p><img height="582" width="400" src="http://staffpicks.icpl.org/wp-content/themes/icpl/cover.php?isbn=9780312383435&amp;size=lg" alt="The Wedding Girl" style="float:left;margin:10px;" />Are you a fan of the Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella?&nbsp; If so, let me introduce you to Kinsella&#39;s alter ego, Madeleine Wickham.&nbsp; Both personas write about English women who have found themselves in a predicament.&nbsp; Whether it be money (Shopaholic series), quitting a job and winding up in the country (Undomestic Goddess), or having a marriage from ten years ago come back and haunt her (Wickham&#39;s newest novel), women in all of the novels have an obstacle to overcome.&nbsp; The difference, however, is the slapstick humor that can be found in Kinsella&#39;s books.&nbsp; When she writes under the alter ego of Wickham, Sophie Kinsella approaches subjects more seriously and tackles some difficult issues.</p>
<p>In the newest book by Wickham, <em>The Wedding Girl</em>, Milly Havill is just four days from marrying the man of her dreams.&nbsp; It seems, however, that Milly has a secret that she has been hiding for ten years and the secret is threatened to be revealed by her wedding photographer.&nbsp; When she was 18, Milly married an American student to allow him to stay in England with his partner.&nbsp; Thinking no one would ever find out, Milly continues to live her life for the next ten years.&nbsp; A few days before her wedding, however, the photographer shows up to take her picture, and Milly discovers&nbsp;it is&nbsp;the same young man that snapped a shot of her first wedding on the courthouse steps.&nbsp; </p>
<p>Milly&#39;s story is just one of the storylines in <em>The Wedding Girl</em>.&nbsp; Each character has issues that he or she is struggling to resolve.&nbsp; While there are multiple storylines occurring in this novel, Wickham manages to keep the reader invested in all the characters.&nbsp; It isn&#39;t her strongest, or funniest, but for fans of Kinsella or Wickham, it will be another good read.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1803" width="1" height="1">reviewsbookschick litfamiliesMothers &amp; DaughtersEnglishlovefamily secretsHester Brownehttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/07/22/hester-browne.aspxWed, 22 Jul 2009 14:03:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1696KickinLibrarian@evpl0http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1696http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/07/22/hester-browne.aspx#comments<p><img height="500" width="330" src="http://covers.fictiondb.com/covers/1416540075.jpg" alt="The Finishing Touches" style="float:left;margin:5px;" />If you haven&#39;t read anything by Hester Browne, then you need to go to the nearest library and check one of her books out!&nbsp; Browne has written a hilarious series that begins with <em>The Little Lady Agency.&nbsp; </em>The story begins with Melissa Romney-Jones, a Londoner who has once again been fired from her job.&nbsp; In order to find more permanent employment, Melissa looks up her old etiquette teacher who serves as a companion for older men.&nbsp; A few dates into the job, however, Melissa finds out her job wasn&#39;t exactly what she thought!&nbsp; Determined to help those men who are quite helpless, Melissa starts her own business- <em>The Little Lady Agency- </em>to help men figure out their wardrobes, how to act on dates, etc.&nbsp; All is going along swimmingly until Melissa meets American Jonathan Riley.&nbsp; As Melissa struggles to get her company going, she also struggles to keep her attraction to Jonathan under control.&nbsp; Melissa&#39;s story continues in&nbsp;<em>Little Lady, Big Apple</em>&nbsp;and <em>The Little Lady Agency and the Prince</em>.&nbsp; Now that she is off the singles market, Melissa tries to figure out how to balance her business of helping bachelors while keeping a boyfriend.&nbsp; </p>
<p>In June 2009, Browne published a new stand-alone book.&nbsp; After waiting for weeks on the hold list (even librarians have to wait for the good books), I eagerly started reading <em>The Finishing Touches</em> this weekend.&nbsp; Browne has done it again!&nbsp; Not only does the book have laugh-out-loud moments, but there is also a bit of seriousness thrown in as well.&nbsp; Twenty-seven years ago a baby was left outside the Phillimore Academy for Young Ladies with a note and a small bee pendant.&nbsp; Betsy grows up in the shadows of the Academy walls anticipating the day she will become one of the Phillimore girls.&nbsp; Imagine her shock when her adoptive parents decide she is &quot;not that type of girl&quot; and send her off to university.&nbsp; Twelve years later Betsy returns after the death of her adoptive mother in hopes of bringing the Academy into the modern age and finding her real parents.&nbsp; </p>
<p>&nbsp;If you&#39;re looking for a new author that will make you laugh and feel a little weepy, check out any of the Hester Browne books.&nbsp; </p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1696" width="1" height="1">reviewsfictionbookschick litLondonseriesfunnylove